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Samwell Tarly
Samwell Tarly, often called Sam, Ser Piggy or Sam the Slayer, is the eldest son and child of Lord Randyll Tarly and his wife, Lady Melessa Florent. He serves as a steward of the Night's Watch. Appearance and Character Samwell Tarly is a tall but immensely fat and overweight young man with messy dark hair, small pale eyes and a very large, moon-shaped face. With a high and squeaky voice and a weak disposition, Sam has been scorned his entire life for being fat and cowardly. Despite all this, and in spite of his fear of violence, Sam is deceptively strong. Sam, at first, is a coward. He has had this opinion beaten into him to such an extent that he outright admits it to his fellow recruits when he arrives at Castle Black, which shocks everyone present as no man among them would have it in them to admit being a coward. Sam is afraid of height, of the dark, and of so many other things that Jon Snow is alarmed that he came to join the Watch in the first place. He has grown to be terrified of his father, of combat, and of the prospect of being made to fight in general. However, after protracted time at the Wall, he has become immensely brave, killing an Other and even participating in combat on several occasions. His assertiveness has also grown drastically, to the point that he doesn't suffer tormentors gladly anymore. Sam is also extremely loyal and highly intelligent; he forms close friendships when allowed to, as is the case with Jon Snow. He is utterly mindful of his vows to the Night's Watch, even though he develops a romantic relationship with Gilly. He is also disgusted by acts of dishonour or cruelty when he sees it with his own eyes, and cares about those who show him kindness. For this reason, he becomes much more respected among his sworn brothers as time progresses. Sam is a keen and studious reader and an exceptionally clever individual, which even Jon Snow recognises soon after meeting him; this is one of the reasons he becomes so invaluable to Maester Aemon, and one of the reasons they grow so close. History Samwell was the first child of Lord Randyll Tarly and his wife Melessa Florent. Lord Randyll was regarded as one of the finest military commanders in the Seven Kingdoms and he did everything in his power to raise Samwell into what he deemed a proper heir. Unfortunately, Samwell resisted every effort and failed to meet his father's expectations. He was sent to the Arbor as a page, but the Redwyne twins (Hobber and Horas) bullied him, and Lord Paxter sent him back to Horn Hill where a dozen masters-at-arms proceeded to fail at toughening Samwell. There were many attempts to strengthen Samwell's disposition such as dressing him in his mother's clothes, forcing him to sleep in chainmail, and being bathed in aurochs blood by Qartheen warlocks, but each failed to raise his valor. After Lady Melessa bore her husband three girls, Samwell's brother Dickon was born. Dickon Tarly showed promise that Samwell lacked, including the physical vigor Lord Randyll had tried to instill in his older son. As a result, Randyll's attentions turned towards raising his more promising younger son to take his place instead of Samwell. For some time Randyll allowed Samwell to enjoy his music, food, and other soft pursuits, but Randyll forbade his son from traveling to Oldtown to become a Maester. When Sam finally reached maturity, his father told him that he was not worthy of their house's ancestral sword. Randall then told Samwell to join the Night's Watch and renounce his family name so that he would not stand in the way of his younger brother's inheritance. If he refused to do so, Randyll promised that Samwell would then suffer an "unfortunate hunting accident". Having no other choice, Samwell chose to take the black of the Night's Watch. Books A Feast for Crows Samwell is sent away by Jon with Gilly, her son and Maester Aemon. They are escorted by Black Jack Bulwer to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Jon wants Sam to travel to Oldtown, to train to be a Maester and succeed Aemon as the Maester at Castle Black. Category:POV Character Category:Characters Category:House Tarly Category:Night's Watch Category:A Game of Thrones Category:A Clash of Kings Category:A Storm of Swords Category:A Feast for Crows Category:A Dance with Dragons Category:Characters from the Reach Category:Stewards of the Night's Watch